Shell loses Raiders' head coaching job for second time
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

Art Shell has been fired as head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the second time in 13 years.

After an all day meeting with owner Al Davis Thursday, Davis decided to go a different direction with his head coaching position. The Raiders finished 2-14 last season and the offense scored only 12 touchdowns in 16 games. The two sides were expected to meet again Friday morning and come to finally determine whether Shell would return as head coach for the 2007 season.

Two hours after the meeting, the decision was made. Shell was out as head coach.

"Al Davis and Art Shell met today and discussed the 2006 football season" the Raiders said in a statement. "While Art will no longer serve as head coach, he and Mr. Davis have discussed and will continue to discuss opportunities for Art to remain a valued member of the Raider organization."

Shell is set to meet with his staff at 2 p.m. ET Friday to inform them that he's done as the Raiders' coach.

Shell was hired as head coach last year when Davis admitted he made a mistake in firing him in 1994. Shell's record as Raiders head coach was 56-41 from 1989 through 1994. In 1989, Shell was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after one of the most distinguished careers in Raiders history.

Following Shell's firing in 1994, only one Raiders coach had a winning tenure and that was Jon Gruden. Shell met with Davis last January and Davis felt he needed to bring a former Raiders who believed in Raiders tradition as the head coach. Shell was given a two-year contract to turn the team around.

The Raiders finished 2-14. Shell and wide receiver Jerry Porter hit it off poorly during the offseason, and Porter barely played in 2006 even though he was healthy most of the season. Wide receiver Randy Moss complained about his frustrations about the Raiders offense. By mid-season, Shell demoted offensive coordinator Tom Walsh, whom he hired from a dude ranch, and replaced him with John Shoop, the former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator who was coaching the tight ends.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the offense didn't change. It still struggled to score point.

One possible candidate for the job might be on staff. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan turned around the defense, which started eight young players. Davis, however, likes to hire offensive head coaches, so it would be a switch in Raiders tradition to go with a defensive coach.

At this stage, though, Davis is looking for any solution. In the past four years, the Raiders have had a 15-49 record.

i dont think he deserved to be fired. after only one year?? this seems quite strange to me even after the horrible season. i thought he would be around for one more year at least. oh well.

Good luck finding a new coach. I don't know who'd be willing to work with Al Davis at this point. Whisenhunt rejected the position last year (and he's high in the Falcons list), Petrino did the same and Chow seems to be the leading candidate for the Cards position.

Rivera would be a good pick, tho. I just don't know if he'd be willing to go there, knowing Al would call all the shots.

Bobby Petrino is a no. Yes, Louisville was one of the top offenses in college, but the fact that remains is that over the past years, many college coaches have failed to meet expectations to win. You saw what Saban did in college. When he came to coach the Dolphins, he lost power, he couldn't control his players like he used to.

I'd like to see the Raiders get Martz. The Lions were horrible, but yet, they moved the ball. Norv's contract will expire this upcoming season, so then they could bring him in to help out. But I doubt that. Al Saunders is another likely candidate. There are a load of candidates for the head coaching job. I think there's a list at the contra coast times web site.

xBayAreaWarriorx wrote:Bobby Petrino is a no. Yes, Louisville was one of the top offenses in college, but the fact that remains is that over the past years, many college coaches have failed to meet expectations to win. You saw what Saban did in college. When he came to coach the Dolphins, he lost power, he couldn't control his players like he used to.

I think Martz would reject it for the same reasons. Not enough control. That will happen with most candidates with a good resumé. Working for Al ain't easy. Most coaches will also think about what happened with Art Shell this year... It won't be easy to have a big name coaching the Raiders this time. Probably will be a coach looking for his first chance.